Cats Conclude Regular Season with Sweep of ASU

TEMPE, Ariz. – No. 14 Arizona volleyball needed just three sets to take out the 22nd-ranked Sun Devils (29-27, 25-20, 25-21) to close out the regular season and spoil ASU’s senior night in Tempe.

And what a regular season it has been for the Wildcats, who hope to host the first and second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002. Arizona will find out its postseason fate on Sunday when the field of 64 is announced live on ESPNU at 6:30 p.m. MST.

Arizona’s 23 regular-season victories are the most since winning 25 in 2000 while its 12 conference wins are the most since winning 14 in 2005.

The Cats finished what Arizona football started. Just hours after the football team defeated Arizona State to secure the Pac-12 South championship, the volleyball team earned the rivalry victory in what was a 1.5 point swing in the Territorial Cup standings. Volleyball, which had already taken half a point with its victory earlier in the year, secured the full point with the sweep. Arizona State leads the overall series 4.0-3.0.

The Wildcats used an all-around effort to down the Devils. The Cats used a balanced offensive attack to go along with a defensive performance which limited ASU to a .119 hitting percentage.

Madi Kingdon led Arizona with 15 kills and 19 digs in her final regular season match as a Wildcat.

Ashley Harris added 12 kills on a .281 hitting percentage while Taylor Arizobal added nine kills.

Halli Amaro picked up five kills on 10 errorless attacks. Amaro added four blocks, including a solo block that helped Arizona earn a hard-fought 29-27 victory in the first set, which set the tone for the rest of the match.

Penina Snuka ran the offense well, dishing out 39 assists while adding 15 digs and a solo block on defense.

The Cats swept ASU for the first time since 2010 and earned their first straight-set victory in Tempe since 2005.

Arizona led the first set early before ASU fought back to force deuce after fighting off two set points. The teams went back-and-forth before the Cats fought off three ASU set points and won the opening set 29-27 on a Halli Amaro block.

In the second, the Cats led wire-to-wire, limiting ASU to a .133 hitting percentage as the Cats cruised to a 25-20 victory.

ASU came out of the intermission hot, taking a 7-1 lead out of the gates, causing Arizona to take its two timeouts in the set’s first eight points. Arizona fought all the way back, tying the set at 13. The teams went back-and-forth until UA took its first lead at 18-17.

Arizona will learn its postseason fate on Sunday. The selection show will air live on ESPNU at 6:30 p.m. MST.

For more information on Arizona volleyball, visit ArizonaWildcats.com and be sure to follow the team on Twitter (@ArizonaVBall).